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British Columbia is home to half of the grizzly bears in Canada, as well as plentiful black bears and the legendary Spirit bear. Here’s where to get up close to this incredible animal

Picture the scene. A sunlit morning, a trail winding through the forest – then, suddenly, a rushing river, where the noise of the water, spuming, crashing, shatters the silence. You wait, you watch and then, there it is.

Seeing a grizzly bear is more likely in British Columbia than just about anywhere else

A big grizzly bear balanced on the slippery rocks on the other side of the currents, jaws open, trying to catch one of many salmon leaping through the spray. It is one of Mother Natureʼs most iconic scenes – and itʼs yours to view.

Such encounters are a glorious part of the travel process in British Columbia. A place of rugged corners, dense treescapes and remote spaces, the most westerly of Canadaʼs 10 provinces is home to a large number of members of the ursine family.

Not just the famous (and often misunderstood) grizzly, but also its cousin the black bear, as well as the rare Kermode bear – a sub-species of the black bear, long important in First Nations folklore – whose white fur and ghost-like appearance, makes it known as the “Spirit bear”.

While never guaranteed, seeing a grizzly bear is more likely in British Columbia than just about anywhere else. The British Columbian grizzly population amounts to some 15,000 animals – more than half the head count in Canada as a whole, and roughly a quarter of their kind found throughout North America. Black bears, meanwhile, are in ready supply. There may be as many as 150,000 of them dotted across the provincial landscape.

At certain times of year bears often wander past the lodge or are seen sleeping on the lawns.

So, how to see these magnificent beasts of the wilderness? With care and attention, and a focus on conservation and responsible tourism. Through a specialist tour operator such as Ecotours-BC, which offers a Walk With The Grizzlies package that lets visitors come astonishingly close to these jaw-dropping animals in the Cariboo Mountains.

Obviously, a level of guided expertise is essential here – and this is provided by Gary Zorn, the company's owner, whose significant experience with the creatures has earned him the name the “Bear Whisperer”. He takes small groups – of just two people – to find, glimpse and photograph grizzlies at salmon rivers.

Alternatively, if that sounds a little too red in tooth and claw, Ecotours BC also has a base – Pyna-tee-ah Lodge, on the edge of the Quesnel River – where you can slumber in one of six comfortable double rooms, eat good food and head out on a bear-viewing tour into the wilderness of the Cariboo Mountains – one of the best grizzly-bear habitats in British Columbia.

You can also try a break through Eagle Eye Adventures, who search for grizzlies (as well as whales) from their hub at Campbell River on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Or you could choose Tweedsmuir Park Lodge – located on 60 acres on the edge of the Great Bear Rainforest. It’s said to be one of the best places in the world to spot grizzlies and at certain times of year bears often wander past the lodge or are seen sleeping on the lawns.

Laying eyes on the Spirit bear can be a little more difficult. There are thought to be only between 100 and 500 of the white-furred variety.

All of them live in British Columbia, and many of them are on Gribbell, Princess Royal and Roderick islands – fractured parts of the provinceʼs northerly coastline. But you have a fair chance of seeing them at Spirit Bear Lodge, a wildlife-focused retreat set in the Kitasoo First Nations village of Klemtu, a tiny hop from Roderick island, in the very heart of Kermode country.

Super, Natural British Columbia

Come to British Columbia and discover what happens when rugged nature meets vibrant culture. Where glaciated mountains stand over an unruly Pacific, rainforests wrap cities and nature shapes culture. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.